SIUC REU Projects

The central theme of this research program is to design novel materials that can generate active responses to different physicochemical stimuli. These so-called "smart" or "intelligent" materials are useful for many applications including design of shape memory systems, drug delivery, chemical valves, artificial muscle mimics, and actuators. Our group has been able to develop novel strategies to elicit dynamic responses from organically modified silica sol-gels. These materials are prepared using the sol-gel process by a structural modification of sol-gel derived SiO2 glasses by a selective integration of specific functional groups. This enables us to obtain novel advanced materials whose functional and operational (or active) responses can be tailored by appropriate molecular design. The focus of this research is threefold. First, sol-gel based synthesis methods are developed to prepare organically modified silica glasses. Second, these materials are evaluated for their responses to different physicochemical stimuli. Finally, the modified sol-gels are used for design of novel device assemblies. The simplicity of the approach makes these projects suitable for undergraduate research and in the last 6 years about 15 undergraduate students have participated in this research. The research has resulted in several journal publications as well as presentations by undergraduate students at national meetings of American Chemical Society and Materials Research Society.

The specific focus of this project is to design new materials that can be used as devices in drug delivery and separations. REU students will work on the design, characterization, and evaluation of sol-gel derived materials and devices. They will learn the sol-gel method of synthesis and processing. They will use spectroscopy and microscopy methods to characterize and evaluate these materials. Typical methods include absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, along with microscopy methods such as SEM, TEM, AFM, and surface profilometry. Students selecting to work on this research will participate in a) synthesis of sol-gels with active responses, b) characterization of these materials with spectroscopy and microscopy methods, and c) evaluation of stimuli-regulated release, delivery, and separation.